Here we report on the results of a long-term study of mercury exposure in a songbird species, the saltmarsh sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus). We measured total mercury concentrations in blood (n = 840) and feathers (n = 560) of adult saltmarsh sparrows at six locations between 2000 and 2017: Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge (RCNWR) in Wells, Maine; Scarborough Marsh State Wildlife Management Area in Scarborough, Maine; Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island, Massachusetts; Pine Neck Preserve in Southampton, Long Island, New York; and North Cinder and North Green Sedge Islands off the coast of Long Island, New York. During the 12–17 year sampling periods, we found that mercury exposure differed by site and year but there was no consistent temporal trend across sites. Blood mercury concentrations declined only at RCNWR in Maine. We also found seasonal variation in blood mercury concentrations and a positive relationship between mercury concentrations of blood and innermost primary feather, but not between blood and tail feather.

在这里，我们报告了对鸣禽麻雀（Ammodramus caudacutus）中汞暴露的长期研究结果。我们测量了血液（n  = 840）和羽毛（n = 560）在2000年至2017年之间的六个地点的成年盐沼麻雀：缅因州韦尔斯的瑞秋·卡森国家野生动物保护区（RCNWR）；缅因州斯卡伯勒的斯卡伯勒沼泽国家野生动物管理区；马萨诸塞州梅花岛的帕克河国家野生动物保护区；纽约长岛南安普敦的松颈保护区；纽约州长岛沿岸的North Cinder和North Green Sedge群岛。在12-17年的采样期内，我们发现汞暴露量因地点和年份而异，但各个地点之间没有一致的时间趋势。血液汞浓度仅在缅因州的RCNWR下降。我们还发现血液中汞浓度的季节性变化以及血液中汞浓度与最里面的初级羽毛之间的正相关关系，而血液与尾羽毛之间则无正相关关系。